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Thursday, May 24, 2012
Adidas Tango 12 Finale
Jon Hungin
Rating: 
Much like the succession of managers who succeeded Jose Mourino at Chelsea, adidas' official Euro 2012 ball - the Tango 12 Finale - had a heck of a lot to live up to. Its predecessor from Euro 2008 was one of the best I've ever played with.
My initial reaction was positive; it felt solid if perhaps a little too heavy but thankfully didn't have the balloon feel of the dreaded 2010 World Cup Jabulani. Glory be, here was a ball that might actually fly in straight line.
To begin with, however, its weighty feel was a real problem - it was very slow travelling across the astro surface and rock hard when controlling or shooting. You had to strike it with 150% power just to get it moving forward with any impetus and it also had a tendency to get stuck under your foot quite a bit, which really stopped the game from flowing.
Once we'd played 25 mins or so and it had softened ever so slightly, though, and began to come into its own. It was nice and crisp to pass with, easy to control and you could trust it to fly true in the air. Perhaps the biggest bonus was when you caught it neatly on the volley - if you did, it absolutely rocketed towards its target.
Not the best ball of all time, but far from being the worst. A solid product.